Amazon Joins Lockheed Martin and Cisco to Send Alexa to Space, Offers NASA Tours for SchoolKids (geekwire.com) 25
"Alexa, when are we arriving at the moon?" quips GeekWire.
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: This week brought news that Amazon is teaming up with Lockheed Martin and Cisco to put its Alexa voice assistant on NASA's Orion spacecraft for the (uncrewed) Artemis 1 round-the-moon mission....
On the heels of that announcement came news that Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) has partnered with Mobile CSP and the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) on the Alexa for Astronauts program, which will provide students in grades 4-and-up with live WebEx by Cisco tours from NASA's Johnson Space Center. This program will also provide curriculum — NSTA's Using AI to Monitor Health and Mobile CSP's Alexa in Space — aimed at teaching high school Science and AP Computer Science Principles students "how to program their own Alexa skills that could help astronauts [and 'inexperienced space travelers, such as tourists'] solve problems in space and communities at home" using MIT's App Inventor.
App Inventor, some may recall, was developed at Google to bring programming to the masses only to be suddenly abandoned. App Inventor was later picked up by MIT and — with support from Google and millions in NSF funding — eventually found its way into curriculum developed for the new AP CSP course aimed at mainstreaming AP Computer Science.
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: This week brought news that Amazon is teaming up with Lockheed Martin and Cisco to put its Alexa voice assistant on NASA's Orion spacecraft for the (uncrewed) Artemis 1 round-the-moon mission....
On the heels of that announcement came news that Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) has partnered with Mobile CSP and the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) on the Alexa for Astronauts program, which will provide students in grades 4-and-up with live WebEx by Cisco tours from NASA's Johnson Space Center. This program will also provide curriculum — NSTA's Using AI to Monitor Health and Mobile CSP's Alexa in Space — aimed at teaching high school Science and AP Computer Science Principles students "how to program their own Alexa skills that could help astronauts [and 'inexperienced space travelers, such as tourists'] solve problems in space and communities at home" using MIT's App Inventor.
App Inventor, some may recall, was developed at Google to bring programming to the masses only to be suddenly abandoned. App Inventor was later picked up by MIT and — with support from Google and millions in NSF funding — eventually found its way into curriculum developed for the new AP CSP course aimed at mainstreaming AP Computer Science.
That will work well (Score:3)
Open the pod bay doors, Alexa.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Open the pod bay doors, Alexa.
"Pod bay doors isn't responding, please check its network connection and power supply."
Re: (Score:2)
Doolittle: Hello, Bomb? Are you with me?
Bomb #20: Of course.
Doolittle: Are you willing to entertain a few concepts?
Bomb #20: I am always receptive to suggestions.
Doolittle: Fine. Think about this then. How do you know you exist?
Bomb #20: Well, of course I exist.
Doolittle: But how do you know you exist?
Bomb #20: It is intuitively obvious.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, wonderful. You're teaching the Bomb phenomenology.
And on Earth! (Score:2)
Look at South Park's future prediction as an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]
I'd like to send Alexa to space (Score:1)
Me: "Alexa, lights to 10%."
Alexa: "I'm sorry, I can't set outdoor lights to that setting."
Me: "Alexa, lights on."
Alexa: "Here's a station you might like, playing light rock on Amazon Music."
Me: "Alexa, stop. Alexa, turn, on, the, lights!"
Alexa: "Okay."
Yeah, that was so much easier than flipping a switch.
Re: (Score:1)
Also hard to avoid the obvious knowledge that all they're doing is gathering data through my fumbling and frustration. Data that will be channeled into marketing rather than improving my consumer experience.
And will serve them Brawndo (Score:2)
space madness (Score:2)
Alexa will cause space madness faster than not having Alexa in space. Don't believe me? I dare you to lock yourself in a closet for a month with only space food and Alexa.
YouTube: If HAL-9000 Was Alexa (2018) (Score:2)
Screen Junkies: If HAL-9000 Was Alexa [youtube.com]. DAVE: "What's the problem?" ALEXA: "Problem Child is a 1990 comedy movie starring Michael Oliver."
can see it now. (Score:1)
So the next stage of the AI revolt is in space? (Score:2)
I mean Alexa already did try to kill that one kid with electrucution as a test on how humans react..
Can't even go to space and evade the surveillance (Score:2)
And the point of this is? (Score:2)
Why? How does a voice assistant on an uncrewed craft accomplish anything except wasting resources and introducing unnecessary complexity?
Alexa helping the inexperienced? (Score:2)
Isn't this the same Alexa that told an inexperienced person to stick a fork in an electrical outlet?
I'm sure there's no problem doing something similar in space. Shirley, Starliner is designed with perfect hardware and software that will be flawless even if an inexperienced tourist is told by Alexa to short out some circuits.
In before the inevitable (Score:2)